Chapter 2

Tyler was sitting on the bench, scrolling through TikTok and laughing like an idiot.

He had literally thrown our daughter, Stella, into the sandbox while he kicked his feet up on the bench, completely ignoring her.

Stella crouched by the edge of the sandbox, playing with the dirt. Every now and then, she would look up and call out, "Daddy!"

Tyler didn't even raise his head.

He just gave a dismissive "uh-huh" and kept scrolling.

I noticed Stella had forgotten her water bottle in the hallway, so I came downstairs to bring it to her.

Seeing this scene made my temples throb with rage.

Last time at the mall, he forgot Stella in a shopping cart. He wandered through three floors of stores before he finally remembered she existed.

By the time he went back, her throat was hoarse from screaming and crying.

Yet, he just stood there looking innocent, saying, "Chloe, I really didn't mean to. You know my memory is trash."

And the time before that, he picked her up from preschool in the rain. He remembered the umbrella, but he kept it entirely over his own head.

Stella was running behind him, trying to stay under the shield, but she tripped and scraped her knee badly.

Blood was dripping down her little leg before he even registered what had happened.

And before that... he slammed the car door on her foot, almost fracturing her toes.

But every single time, he apologized.

His attitude was always so sincere, his tone so humble, and his eyes would even turn red.

"Chloe, I was wrong. I'll pay attention next time, I promise."

I believed him. Over and over again.

And what did I get?

There was never a "next time." There was only another accident waiting to happen.

An idea started to form in my mind.

Since your memory is so bad, Tyler, let me help you remember.

I turned back to the house, called my mother’s place, and asked Maria to come pick Stella up.

Then, I started packing.

Stella’s clothes, toys, bottles, and snacks—all went into a small suitcase.

Everything was ready.

When I went back downstairs, Tyler was still glued to his phone.

Stella had crawled out of the sandbox on her own and was crouching by the flower bed, watching ants.

I walked over, buckled Stella into her car seat in Maria's car, and kissed her forehead.

"Go with Maria to Grandma’s house, okay baby? Mommy will be there tomorrow."

"Bye-bye, Mommy!"

I watched the taillights disappear down the street, and a slow smirk spread across my face.

Tyler, since you can't seem to remember your responsibilities, let's see how you like this.

Let's see how it feels when your child is actually gone.